Addiction
by DiamondDaze
Summary: She was dangerously addictive, and he had sworn he wouldn't succumb to this: to her. HouseCameron.
1. Chapter 1

This is my first ever fanfic! Yay!

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own House... although I keep asking every birthday...

Rating: M

Pairings: House/Cameron.

Spoilers: Umm not sure but I'll say Seasons 1 and 2 just to be sure.

Summary: _She was dangerously addictive, and he had sworn he wouldn't succumb to this: to her._

**Addiction**

"Scotch. Dry," demanded Dr Gregory House, sliding onto one of the uncomfortable stools at the bar, which he had made a beeline towards the minute he had arrived. Tapping his cane against the leg of his seat, he surveyed as much of the room as he could from his location. Damn Cuddy, damn fundraising thing, and damn tuxedo. He wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the several hours of extra clinic duty Cuddy had threatened him with. No sooner had the bartender placed his drink in front of him, House snatched it up and took a large drink, allowing the liquid to swirl at the back of his throat painfully before swallowing. It was going to be a long night, but he could always lessen its tedium by getting smashed and pissing Cuddy off- although that might mean getting landed with the clinic duty anyway. Double damn.

Across the room Dr Allison Cameron was thinking along the same lines as House, except maybe for the clinic duty, Cuddy, and getting smashed part. She had come to hate these fundraiser evenings. Her expensive shoes were mutilating her feet as she made her way further in from the doorway. Spotting her colleagues Chase and Foreman at the bar, she strode over to them, her strapless midnight blue dress brushing against her knees as she went.

Meanwhile, further to the right of where Foreman and Chase were sat House. He had just sent the moron bartender off for his second scotch when he saw the third duckling making her way over to join the other two. His breath caught in his throat when he saw her, and for a full minute he was powerless to stop himself staring at her, transfixed. Her auburn tresses cascaded over her bare creamy white shoulders, the midnight blue of her dress contrasting perfectly with her sometimes blue-sometimes green eyes. House suddenly came to his senses and mentally shook himself. What the hell? God, he had to get out of here before he had any more thoughts about Cameron and her 'creamy shoulders' or her 'sometimes blue- sometimes green eyes'. Wincing as he downed the rest of his scotch, House slid off his seat and limped as discreetly as he could away from his employees, and spying Wilson sitting at the poker table, he made his way over there.

Cameron, oblivious to the reaction she had just inspired in a certain gruff, sarcastic doctor, joined Foreman and Chase, ordering herself a dry martini.

"Hey. Nice dress," said Foreman pleasantly.

Looking over to Chase, Cameron saw him staring openly and unabashedly up and down her form, mouth hanging ever so slightly open. Foreman elbowed him hard and Cameron blushed slightly, trying to hide her smirk.

"Hi Cameron," he managed, glaring at Foreman, who was having a hard time controlling his laughter.

Cameron's smirk soon left her face when Chase asked her to dance. Glancing briefly at Foreman, she accepted, allowing him to lead her to the dancing area. Cameron was slightly uneasy now, from the way he had been staring at her. She couldn't lie and say she was attracted to him; she only thought of him as a colleague and friend. The man that attracted her had piercing, sky blue eyes, thousands of sarcastic remarks up his sleeve, and a cane; and who was probably at home having escaped coming to this stupid benefit. Secretly, she imagined what it would be like to dance with him instead of Chase; but she knew better. He wasn't the dancing type.

"Why can't you just admit it: you like her," said Wilson, for what House counted as the third time that evening, which was a pretty amazing feat since House been at his table for around a quarter of an hour.

"Why can't you just _mind your own business_," he hissed back irritably.

"Fine," sighed Wilson, giving up. House had to be one of the most stubborn jackasses he had ever met.

House meanwhile, began tapping his cane on his shoe agitatedly, his eyes intensely following a certain pair of dancers. When the tapping became more of a subtle bashing, and Wilson was worried about the state of House's metatarsals, he cleared his throat loudly and eyed his friend. The tapping stopped. Standing up abruptly, House shot Wilson an annoyed look briefly before limping away. Heading towards the lift, he took the familiar path towards his office, intending on listening to some _real_ music instead of the muzak crap they had going at the fundraiser, and maybe have a swig of his pricey vodka from the bottom desk drawer. Turning on his stereo and slumping on the lumpy couch, he began to think. He couldn't help it, music just did that: it allowed him to reflect on a case in a way that dead silence didn't allow for. Immediately, his thoughts went to Cameron. He cursed his traitorous mind for thinking of her, even when he swore he wouldn't. Cameron. _Allison_. He had never referred to her by her first name before. Even in his own mind. She had looked stunning tonight in that dress. That image was ruined with another one of her dancing with the wombat. Stupid Chase, getting his grubby paws all over her: putting his hands in inappropriate places. Then again, he reasoned, they had slept together before; of course they would be more intimate than if perhaps Foreman had danced with her. Suddenly he found himself wondering what it would be like if he danced with her, minus his bum leg, of course. That was the one of the reasons why he couldn't be with her. Why he constantly pushed her away. He was too old, too crippled, too bitter, too broken. House had once accused her of wanting to fix him, but he had only been fishing for reasons as to why she would be interested in him: he still couldn't come up with anything more plausible. No, she was much better off without him, and if he would do one selfless act in his whole miserable lifetime, then avoiding her until she found someone better would be it. Although he was sure Chase wasn't worthy of her either. The bastard had practically taken advantage of her when she was high, just to get laid. House was pulled from his thoughts when he heard shuffling in the adjacent conference room. Cameron's desk lamp was on and she was rummaging through a pile of paperwork on her desk. Watching her take out a manilla folder, rearrange the papers, then turn towards his office, he realised she was coming in there, no doubt to deliver the folder to his messy desk. She pushed open the joining door and sashayed into the room, the hem of her dress swishing provocatively against her knees. House didn't think he could resist her tonight.

Cameron was surprised to see him here, she hadn't realised he had come. He looked devastatingly sexy lounging there on the couch, hair tousled lightly, bow tie undone and hanging loosely around his neck. She swallowed slightly and continued forwards, holding out the folder.

As he took it, she said, "You need to sign these, I just remembered before. I was just going to leave them on your desk, I didn't know you'd be here."

"I'd rather be up here than down there," House replied gruffly, his eyes surveying her carefully, "You seemed to be enjoying yourself though."

Cameron was surprised to hear a slight hint of jealously in his voice, but brushed it aside as her imagination.

"Not really. These things are always so superficial," she replied softly.

There was silence for a few moments and all that could be heard was House tapping the tip of his cane gently against the carpet.

Finally he spoke up, and fighting to keep the bitterness out of his voice this time, he said, "You'd better run along or a certain wombat might be worried."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he knew he had failed to do so.

An odd look passed over Cameron's eyes when he said this, and she said, "What do you mean?"

Rising, he walked slowly over to her. When he was only a foot away, she started to back away.

"What I mean is," he said, as he continued towards her until she had her back against the glass wall, "that you need to be more careful, or Cuddy may find out about your little fling."

Her breathing was laboured as he came closer, but she looked up at him and said defiantly, "Again: what the hell do you mean?"

She gasped lightly as he abruptly leant in, his breath tickling her ear, and whispered, "It isn't exactly fair on dear Chase if you continue a relationship with him, when you're obviously attracted to someone else."

As quickly as he had come, he was gone, and when she opened her eyes, still breathing heavily, he had stepped back slightly. Cameron wasn't about to let him intimidate her like he usually did; no, tonight she decided, she would give him a taste of his own medicine. Mustering her courage she boldly stepped up to him so they were nearly touching.

Reaching up, her breath tickling his lips as his had done moments before, she said seductively, "You're right, it wouldn't be fair on him, would it? It's just lucky I'm not in a relationship with him, isn't it?"

House swallowed with difficulty, becoming aroused by her proximity. Before he knew what was happening, Cameron's unbelievably soft lips were on his, and his eyes slowly slid shut at the sensation of it. She kissed him tenderly but deepened the kiss as she felt him respond. She slid her tongue over his lips, and he opened his mouth to invite her in further. She was intoxicating and House couldn't get enough, but he knew that he had to stop. She was dangerously addictive, and he had sworn he wouldn't succumb to this: to her. Breaking the kiss, Cameron began tracing light nips and licks across his masculine, stubbled jaw and down his neck. She felt, rather than heard, his moan. When her fingers began to undo the buttons on his shirt, he knew he had to pull away. He was right, she was addictive: much more so than his Vicodin, and House knew if she kept going, he would lose his remaining power to stop her. Eyes still closed, he took hold of her hands, effectively stopping her from further undoing his shirt. Cameron looked up at his face, and saw that his eyes were shut tightly, and when he did open them, she saw that they were clouded with desire. For what felt like hours, they stood there staring at each other, her fingers clasped firmly in his, in the middle of his office with strains of the Rolling Stones playing in the background. Finally, he pulled away, picked up his cane, which had fallen down onto the floor, and with a last intense look, he limped out of the office, the glass door closing behind him with a soft thump.

To Be Continued...

Author Note: Please review! I need to know whether or not to keep going, whether anyone is actually reading this or if it was a piece of crap. I'd also appreciate any constructive criticism that would help me improve my writing.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Still don't own House... (bursts into tears)

Rating: M

Pairings: House/Cameron

Spoilers: Umm not sure but I'll say Seasons 1 and 2 just to be sure.

Summary: _Putting the handset back into its cradle, then slipping down to the ground, Cameron wept bitterly. It was all so sudden._

**Addiction: Chapter Two**

Drumming her fingers on the steering wheel impatiently, Dr Allison Cameron searched for a car park at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. After a few minutes she spotted one between a black Mercedes and a silver BMW. Pulling her car into the space and shutting of the ignition, she tried not to be nervous about the day ahead of her. Since the events from the night before, she didn't know what her boss' mood would be like today. House wasn't one to talk about his feelings, so that was the last thing she expected him to do. No, what she was worried about was whether or not he would use this as an opportunity to publicly humiliate her or ignore her coldly the whole day. What she had been pondering all last night though, was what had caused him to act that way all because of one dance between her and Chase? Cameron liked to think he was jealous in some way, but that would prove her to be just as naive as House often accused her of being. She knew she should probably just attribute it all to excess alcohol, although he hadn't really seemed that drunken to her at all. Sighing, she decided to just go with the flow as best she could, even though that wasn't her usual approach to life, and get this day over with.

Ten minutes later, she strolled into the conference room, dumped her bag and jacket on her desk and went over to the coffee machine to start brewing it. As she waited for it to make the coffee, Chase and Foreman walked in, announcing that they had a new case. They ended up starting the differential without House since he decided to turn up an hour and a half late.

"What's all this? My little kiddiewinkles think they're all grown up and can handle a case all by themselves?" he said in a mock baby voice, by way of greeting.

He settled down and soon they had a long list of possible diseases, which he then began narrowing down by sending the ducklings off to perform various tests. House had sent Cameron off to do a lumbar puncture, a more time consuming test than the ones Mutt and Jeff had to do. He had been avoiding her all morning, not looking at her all through the differential. Well, he had started avoiding her gaze _after _making the mistake of looking at her too closely while she suggested a possible disease. Just looking at her would make him think of how ravishing she had looked in that dress and how insanely soft her lips felt on his. There was no doubt about it: she was _definitely_ addictive. She should come with a warning. And now that he was officially addicted- yes, he could admit it to himself- he had to begin detoxification procedures.

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The day had passed rather uneventfully for Cameron, for which she was eternally grateful. Apart from ignoring her completely, House hadn't done or said anything particularly nasty to her at all. Now she could head home and look forward to going out for drinks with a few friends, a treat she didn't regularly indulge in, due to her demanding career. Going out with her close friends Jenna, Samantha and Lilley was always enjoyable and a welcomed break from her hectic life. When she reached her front door, she opened her purse to grab her keys, and upon finding the correct one, she opened her front door and entered her apartment. She had accidentally trodden on her mail in the doorway on her way in and stooped to pick up the several letters. Flicking through them as she walked further down her hall and turned into her kitchen, she conceded that they were all either bills, or useless to her, so she tossed the lot on her kitchen counter. Looking over at her answering machine, she noticed that she had two new messages. She pushed a large round button and the voice of Samantha filled the room.

"Hey Ally, just calling to make sure we're still on for tonight. Jen and Lil are going in Jen's car, so I'll come pick you up around 7, okay? See you then."

Smiling, Cameron walked over to her fridge to decide what to eat for dinner that night as the second message began to play.

"Allison, this is really important. You need to call me as soon as you get this. I don't want to have to tell over the phone but I have no choice. Please call back soon," begged her younger brother in a desperate and slightly strained voice.

Cameron paused upon hearing the message, and put the fish she had been planning to fry on a plate. Wondering what had got her brother so upset, she went back over to her phone, dialled his number hurriedly and waited for him to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Chris, it's Ally. What's going on?" she asked.

"Ally, Mom's... I don't know how to say this... Mom passed away this morning. The doctor said it was a massive stroke or something," Chris replied, shakily.

Cameron felt her heart constrict, tears welling in her eyes. This couldn't be happening. She had only just spoken to her mother a week ago and now she was gone. Pressing the cold handset back to her ear, she swallowed and said, "Chris, I'm gonna come up as soon as I can, okay? I'll ask for time off tomorrow and I'll be there tomorrow night."

"Ally I'm sorry I had to tell you over the phone, but there wasn't any other way."

"It's alright, Chris," she said, "I have to go now. Oh, wait can you pick me up tomorrow? I'll call you with flight details."

"Of course. You can stay with Rachael and I. Bye Allision," said Chris.

"See you tomorrow," she said, pressing a button to end the conversation. Putting the handset back into its cradle, then slipping down to the ground, Cameron wept bitterly for the loss of her mother. It was all so sudden. She was close to her mother, and they often chatted over the phone about how each one's lives were going. As her mother had lived in Indiana, Cameron only really saw her once a year for Christmas when the she and her siblings would return home to visit her. Cameron hadn't heard from her father since she was sixteen and he had left her mother. She wondered if anyone had told him: probably not. When she had cried until she was positive she didn't have any tears left. She stood up at glanced at the mahogany clock on her wall. Six-thirty. Sam would arrive soon to pick her up and she still hadn't showered or eaten. She didn't feel like going out but knew that she would do better in the company of her friends than alone at home. She showered and dressed in a pair of jeans, a cherry red top, and an optional jean-jacket in case it got cold. Deciding to leave her hair out, she fluffed it a bit and looked at herself in the mirror. Boy, she needed to be extra meticulous with her make-up tonight- she looked like hell. When she was done, she went back out to the kitchen and put the nearly forgotten salmon back into the fridge as she wasn't feeling very hungry. With five minutes to spare, she sat on the couch with her laptop and started searching the Internet for airline tickets to from New Jersey to Indiana. Hearing her doorbell ring, she flagged a possible flight and shut her laptop, walking over to open her door.

"Hey Ally! You ready to go?" said Sam animatedly.

Forcing a smile onto her face, she nodded, shutting and locking her door behind her. By the time, she met up with her other two friends at their usual bar, and they began catching up on old times, she was sure that getting out of the house was a good way to distract herself from the bomb her brother had dropped on her only half an hour before.

To Be Continued...

Authors Note: In the next chapter House finds out about Cameron's problem. Dun dun duhhhhhhh... Please review, I need to know how I'm going and what you think of the plot so far. :)


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: House is not mine. Whew, at least I'm past the denial stage.

Rating: M

Pairings: House/Cameron

Spoilers: Umm not sure but I'll say Seasons 1 and 2 just to be sure.

**Addiction: Chapter Three**

Exhausted, Dr Allison Cameron, slipped into her apartment, dropping her keys on the small table next to the door. Looking at her watch, she swore softly. Two-thirty in the morning. She had been out with her friends for seven and a half hours. Not bothering to turn on any lights, she undid her pumps and slid them off, tossing them to the side, then padded down the hallway towards her bedroom. Deciding that she would have a bath tonight as opposed to her usual shower, she grabbed a new towel, her sweatpants and a T-shirt and stepped into her bathroom. Flicking on the lights she squinted slightly as her eyes adjusted to the sudden illumination of her bathroom. Hanging the towel on a shower rack, she went over to the tub and after plugging the drain and turning on the taps, she busied herself with brushing her teeth. When the bath was full, she slipped slowly in, and sank back until her whole body was underwater except for her head. Her mind flew immediately to her deceased mother. She was still trying to come to terms with it. It was as though she had been running on autopilot since the phone call; not feeling, not thinking. Now she was alone, forcing her to think. Her mother was gone. She felt like she was alone in the world now, without her mother's guidance. But she would be strong. She would pull through.

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Half an hour later, Cameron figured she had better resume her hunt for flights soon, and then call her brother later on in the day to tell him the details. Assuming House gave her the time off. She knew she didn't want to tell him why she was leaving, but she really couldn't see any other way; he had an odd way of knowing when she was lying and even sometimes what she was _really_ thinking.

When she was done washing herself, she got out, dried herself and slipped into her sleepwear. Going out into the lounge room, she opened up her laptop, which remained on the coffee table the way she had left it hours ago, and started once more to look for flights from New Jersey to Indiana tomorrow evening. Twenty minutes later she had booked a flight and noted down the booking information. Rubbed her eyes tiredly, she decided to call it a night. Well, morning actually. It was quarter-past three when she fell into a disturbed sleep, tossing and turning, until her alarm went off with a series of irritating, tinny beeps at six-thirty, and she dragged herself out of bed to get ready for work.

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House sat in his office playing his Gameboy. The current level he was playing was a diabolical challenge. He had been trying to get past it for a day now. Stupid Super Mario Brothers. This new game was his latest attempt at distracting himself from a certain member of his diagnostics team. Looking up, he was surprised to see that only the male members of his team sat in the conference room. Where was Cameron? He heard a metallic bleeping coming from the object clutched in his hands, indicating that once again Mario had gotten the best of him. Chucking the game onto his desk, he stood and went into the conference room.

"Where's Cameron? It's not very common to have _her_ running off playing hooky, is it? I'd have bet on the Kangaroo Man, but hey, I'm allowed to be wrong sometimes," he said to Foreman and Chase.

Chase, although slightly irritated by House's latest nickname for him, let it slide and said, "She was scheduled for the clinic this morning but only until ten o'clock."

After taking in this new information, House said, "Well, Daddy's off to go visit Uncle Jimmy, page me if anything happens with the patient. Don't get into any mischief now."

With that, he limped out of the conference room and headed for the elevator. Instead of pressing the button for the oncology level, he pushed level one, intending to go down to the clinic. Of course, he wasn't going down there to do any work- yeah, right: dream on, Cuddy- he was going to find the elusive third musketeer. Yesterday, he would have welcomed her absence, as he wouldn't have to waste valuable energy in avoiding her. Today, though, he wasn't _as_ eager to keep away from her. When he stepped out of the elevator he walked to the reception desk intending to look at the clinic roster. Snatching it up and evil-eyeing a young receptionist who looked as though she might try and stop him, he scanned it quickly. _Dr A. Cameron: Checked in- 7:00 a.m., Checked out- 10:00 a.m._ So, Dr Cameron _was_ playing hooky after all. Interesting. Deciding to keep looking for her – it really was quite entertaining- he thought of all the possible places she would go to. The lab? Out of the hospital? House decided the lab was a very likely option, so he checked there first. No luck. Glancing at his watch, he realised it was nearly twelve. Something dodgy was definitely up and he was going to find out what it was. After searching nearly the entire hospital, House suddenly decided to check the one place he hadn't thought of: the roof. He took the elevator up to the highest level it could take him, which was still one level below the roof. This meant only one thing... _stairs_. It was tough work, but he'd never admit that to anyone. He came up here regularly enough, though, that he knew what he had to do to get himself up there with minimal pain. Opening the cold, grey metal door slowly, he peeked out. She was over by the edge, her head bowed, her silky hair forming a makeshift curtain, shielding her face from him. Her shoulders were shaking slightly and he could faintly hear her soft sobs from where he stood. House shifted uncomfortably. While her sobs were almost heartbreaking to hear, compelling him to comfort her, he knew he wasn't very good at emotional stuff. Hell, he could even end up making her cry harder. Deciding to go ahead anyway, he limped slowly towards her until he stood beside her.

Tapping his cane against his sneaker, he said in his softest tone, which somewhat contradicted his choice of words, "You gonna tell me what's got you crying your eyes out?"

She looked up at him and he could see her tear stained cheeks, and her red, puffy eyes that held so much emotion in their depth. Cameron didn't know what to say, she was dumbstruck: since when did House actually _care_ about someone else's feelings?

Without thinking, she swiftly turned, and embraced him tightly, her arms wrapping around his middle, laying her head on his chest and sobbing uncontrollably once more. House stiffened at first, stunned at her sudden action, but then hesitantly put one hand on her waist and the other on her back, attempting to soothe her.

After a while, Cameron lifted her head up and off of House's chest, and looked up at him.

"My mother died yesterday. A stroke. I'm leaving tonight to go and stay with my brother," she said quietly, looking away from his powerful gaze.

House didn't say anything, just continued to hold her and rub her back soothingly. She had probably been very close to her mother. Called her regularly, talked about her life and her problems. Confided in her. That would explain the extent of the grief she was experiencing. He would give her the time off no questions asked. Wiping her eyes, Cameron smiled a tiny, watery smile up at him.

She leaned towards him and kissed him softly on the cheek, "Thank you," she whispered in his ear.

Then she slowly slipped out of the embrace and quietly walked out of the large metal door leading back down into the hospital, leaving a pensive House behind.

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Pushing his office door open, he made his way over to his desk. Looking down at the clock, he realised that it was just gone twelve-thirty. Grabbing his jacket, he turned back and limped out of his office. Five minutes later, he was on his motorbike speeding down the highway on his way to a jewellery shop that Wilson frequented on a regular basis- sparkling pretties being a guaranteed ticket out of the doghouse and all. Walking into the shop a little later, he still wasn't entirely sure if he was going to regret doing such a random act of sappiness later.

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It was evening before Cameron had returned to her desk in the conference room. She had spent the rest of the day in the lab, while they waited for the patient to show any new symptoms. Rearranging some papers on her desk, she attempted to tidy it before she left. Her flight was at quarter to six that night, and she had already said her goodbyes to Foreman and Chase, not mentioning why it was that she was leaving, though she knew they were dying to know. Giving up her attempt to clean up the mess of paperwork, she moved around to the other side to get her jacket. As she picked it up off her chair, she noticed a small navy-blue box on her chair. Cameron's curiosity peaked instantly, she picked up the box, lifting up the lid gently. She gasped lightly when she saw what was inside; nestled in white tissue paper was a beautiful butterfly brooch, various coloured gemstones decoratively encrusted onto its wings. Her lips turned upwards into a small smile as she placed the lid back onto the box and put it carefully into her shoulder bag. She didn't need a card to know who it was from.

To Be Continued...

Authors Note: Hopefully that wasn't too OOC. I tried to make the sappiness as un-sappy as I possibly could! I swear! Please review :D


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own House. I _do_ own Scott, Chris, Rachael, Rebecca, Marie, Jacob, Josephine and all other people you have never seen on the show before.

Rating: M

Pairings: House/Cameron

Spoilers: Umm not sure but I'll say Seasons 1 and 2 just to be sure.

**Addiction: Chapter Four**

Pulling her luggage through the crowded airport, Cameron located an empty bench just outside the sliding doors. Sitting down, and immediately wishing her brother would hurry up and come get her, she eyed her surroundings nervously. She was far from comfortable sitting there, which could probably be explained by the surrounding smog spewing from the ancient buses that were lined up in the waiting bay, and by the creepy man who had been staring at her since she had sat down. Fortunately about five minutes later her brother pulled up behind the prehistoric buses and waved her over. Getting up quickly and hurrying over to his car, she opened the trunk and shoved her small suitcase inside. Shutting it, she moved around quickly and sat in the front passenger seat.

"How are you doing?" Chris said, after they had hugged quickly.

"I'm getting along as best as I can," she replied as he pulled out of the parking spot.

"Well it's been pretty hectic over on my end, but I'm doing okay. Aunt Jo came this afternoon, and Marie, Jacob and Rebecca are here as well. Scott came across yesterday, and I told him you were coming today. He's going to be over for dinner later," said Chris.

"Oh, that'll be nice," Cameron said with a forced smile.

In truth, she was incredibly nervous about seeing Scott Barton again.

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Limping into the conference room, House ignored Foreman and Chase as they sat together talking about the patient, and headed straight for the coffee machine. It was already made, presumably by either Tweedle Dumb or Tweedle Dumber, so he grabbed his usual red mug and poured some into it. After drinking a large gulp, it took all of his bodily control not to projectile spit the sludge across the conference room.

"What the fuck _is_ this shit?" he shouted angrily, after swallowing- with difficulty- the horribly made coffee.

"That would be coffee," said Chase, in an annoyed tone.

"Yeah, coffee that's been pissed on by a cat, left in the sun all day, and made without coffee beans," House retorted, still trying to rid himself of the taste by drinking a glass of water.

"C'mon House, it wasn't _that_ bad," said Foreman, in an attempt to restore the peace.

"Lemme think," he said to Foreman, and pretended to ponder it for a few moments, "Nope, it really was crap, and Chase is now banned from touching the coffee machine ever again. We'll see if you can do better tomorrow."

As House turned to go into his office, he saw Foreman grin gleefully behind Chase's back.

"Saw that Foreman. Try to be more discreet next time," he tossed over his shoulder.

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Chris droved up the stone driveway and parked next to a green pickup truck, which Cameron groaned at the sight of, as it meant that its owner- the ever-bitchy Aunt Josephine- was here. Stepping out of the car, she was immediately greeted by her cousins Marie and Jacob, as well as their daughter Rebecca, Chris' wife Rachael, and Aunt Jo. Marie came forward first and enveloped her in a warm hug. While the others hovered behind awkwardly awaiting their turn. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed a figure slip out of the front door and recognised him instantly. Chris appeared next to her pulling her small, worn, travelling case, and she smiled a small smile at him, which he returned. Turning back to the congregation in front of her, her gaze moved to Rebecca, who bore a gloomy expression on her face. Walking towards her she bent down to her height and opened her arms out to her. The little girl immediately fell into her arms, gripping her tightly. Cameron rubbed her back in an attempt to calm her, as she sobbed heartily into Cameron's chest. When Bec stopped crying and looked up at Cameron, sniffing occasionally, she kissed the child on the forehead.

"It's gonna be alright. I know it's hard, but she would want for you to be strong. We're all here for you," she whispered in her ear, holding her close.

Bec nodded and they stood up. Everyone had already gone into the house. Except for him. He had waited. Cameron avoided his gaze and ushered Bec into the house, whispering that she'd be there in a second. Knowing she could not put this off any longer, she turned to him and finally allowed herself to look into his deep brown eyes.

"Allison."

"Scott," she replied, "How have you been?"

"Not bad. What about you? How's work? I haven't heard from you for years," he said softly, his eyes searching hers intently.

"Work's good," said Cameron, awkwardly, wishing she could escape back into the house.

Things were different now, and although she still cared a lot about Scott, she didn't really want to start something again with him. It would be pointless: she was only here for a week, and she didn't handle long-distance relationships particularly well. That was why she had refrained from contacting him over the years.

Stepping forward and grabbing the handle of her suitcase, Scott said, "Let's go in."

Walking ahead of him, she went into the house to find Jacob Chris and Rebecca in the living room watching TV and Rachael, Marie and Aunt Josephine talking in the kitchen. Scott moved around her and continued down the hallway, presumably to whichever room she would be staying in. Cameron hesitated where she stood, just inside from the door. She slowly walked further into the house, and then decided to go and see which room was hers. Moving down the hallway she glanced at all the framed pictures, pictures of her and her brother in their younger years, wedding photos of Rachael and Chris, and a portrait of her mother. When she reached a the first spare room, she decided to check there, but expected it to be taken by Aunt Jo or Marie, Jacob and Bec. Peeking in, she saw her battered bag resting on the end of the bed, indicating that this was the room where she was to stay. Going in, she sat on the end of the bed and looked around at the familiar room. It hadn't changed much since she had last stayed here. Sighing, she knew that dinner was probably ready, so she stood and walked quietly back to the kitchen. The setting was much the same as it had been before she went into her room, except now Scott was there, laying the table, a multitude of forks and knives in his hands.

"Ally, can you help dish out the potatoes?" called Marie, stirring something that was simmering on the stove.

Moving over to where Josephine was standing, she grabbed a white dish with a flowery pattern and started to spoon the hot mashed potato into it. Taking it over to the table, she placed in the centre along with the five other dishes that were there already. Everyone sat down to eat ten minutes later, Cameron sat to the left of Chris and Rachael sat to the right. Scott sat down next to Cameron, offering her a quick smile, and started loading roast beef onto his plate. Dinner consisted of amiable yet slightly strained conversation and continued passing of dishes across the table as everyone helped themselves to Rachel and Marie's dishes.

While everyone was still occupied with eating, Josephine looked over to her and said loudly, "You sure you don't want anymore potatoes? You're skin and bone, and you've barely eaten anything!"

This was the main reason she detested Aunt Jo. Most of the time she could handle her grating comments pretty well, but now the added stress of her mother's passing and seeing Scott again, enhanced her annoyance greatly. _At least I'm not a fat slob like you,_ she thought. Knowing full well that saying this would mar the rest of the visit as well as spoil her mother's memorial, she bit her tongue.

Calmly, she said, "No thank you, I'm actually not that hungry today for some reason."

Looking back at her plate, she used her fork to push a couple of peas around. She felt a warm hand pat her knee and then rest there and she looked to her left to see Scott looking sympathetically at her. He wasn't even part of the family, yet he had still been on the receiving end of one of Aunt Josephine's blows before, as almost everyone in her family had. She smiled at him, silently conveying her thanks for the gesture.

After dinner, everyone mingled in the living room for a while, chatting conversationally. Cameron excused herself after helping to clear up and then went to her room. Shutting the door she moved over to the bed and bent down to rummage through her suitcase for her pyjamas. She had a quick shower, and went straight to bed. Slipping between the cool sheets, she lay back, staring at the bare, white ceiling. This was going to be a long week.

To Be Continued...

Author's Note: Please review:D I'm not sure if this chapter is any good or not... Anyway, in the next chapter I plan to explain more about Scott and his history with Cameron; I decided to leave him as a bit of a 'mystery guy' for this chapter.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: House is not mine.

Rating: M

Pairings: House/Cameron

Spoilers: Umm not sure but I'll say Seasons 1 and 2 just to be sure.

It's a long chapter today...

**Addiction: Chapter Five**

A cool breeze ruffled her hair, causing it to tickle her bare shoulder. Rolling over under the sheets, Cameron glimpsed the clock on the dresser, which informed her that it was six forty-five. Closing her tired eyes again as she realised that her mother's funeral was only a few hours away, she curled up under the covers, bringing her knees up to her chest and clutching the blankets tighter around her body. She didn't bother wondering if she would cry or not: she knew she definitely would. She could even see herself bawling her eyes out throughout the ceremony. The eulogy she had prepared would probably result in her blubbering during her delivery (she had had teary eyes while writing it), but she felt that on the whole, it expressed everything that she felt she needed to convey. Cameron sat up slowly, pushing back the covers and stretching. However emotionally taxing this would be on her, she knew that she would be able to regain her strength and begin to go about her life as normal after she had said a final goodbye to her mother. Getting out of bed, she had a quick shower, got dressed, and then went out to the kitchen. Only Rachael and Marie were awake, and they smiled at her when she walked in.

"Morning." Cameron said to them.

"Morning Alison," Rachael said in reply, "What would you like for breakfast? I'll fix something for you."

Sliding onto one of the seats at the counter, Cameron smiled at her and said, "Thanks, Rachael. I don't really mind, as long as there's a coffee thrown in with the offer."

"No problem," she returned before going over to make Cameron her coffee.

Settling into her seat, Cameron fidgeted with her rings while she waited for the coffee to be made. A few minutes later Chris entered the kitchen and said a quiet 'good morning' to everyone there. He sat down next to Cameron and gave her a small smile, patting her hand encouragingly. She smiled back, then thanked Rachael as she placed a steaming mug of coffee in front of both her and Chris. They were eating a breakfast of scrambled eggs and french toast, during which Marie went to go and wake Jacob and Bec, and probably Aunt Jo as well. Cameron could hardly eat, instead pushing the eggs around with her fork and only taking tiny bites of her bread. Finally, Chris announced that they should start getting ready in order to leave in about half an hour. She stood and went to her room, shutting the door slowly behind her. Moving to her suitcase, she took out the outfit she had been planning to wear to the event. It was a plain, black, sleeveless, knee-length dress, which she had worn only once before and didn't particularly like. Taking it out, she took off her clothes and then slipped it on. Fiddling with the waist until it sat right, she went to the bathroom to do her makeup. When she looked in the mirror, she saw that she was extremely pale and her eyes were dull and tired-looking, with shadows under them. She looked a mess and she felt distinctly nauseous. Going over to the toilet she put the lid down and sat on it. This was going to be harder than she thought. The idea of seeing the lifeless form of her mother wasn't akin to all the cadavers she had seen and worked with in medical school. It would be unnatural to see her motionless in the coffin, when Cameron was so used to seeing her constantly active in her home, tidying up the place, cooking in the kitchen, or tending to her precious garden. Tears rolling down her cheeks, already ruining her makeup, she stood up and grabbed a couple of tissues, attempting to stem the rapid flow of silent tears. She had to be strong, it was what her mother would have wanted from her. When Cameron called her to talk and ask for advice about things in her life, one of the things her mother told her most often was to be strong, to persevere, and to never give up. Redoing her makeup, she stood straight and with a last look at her self in the mirror, she walked out of the bathroom and went out to join her family.

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Dr Gregory House strolled casually through the hospital doors at quarter to ten. Half expecting Cuddy to pop out from one of her secret hiding places and try to force him into clinic duty, he picked up his pace slightly and headed for the elevators. Jabbing the up button with his cane, he looked up at the large squares above each elevator, waiting for one of them to light up. When the left one did soon after, (much to his dismay as he had been betting on the right one) he stepped in only to be faced with Cuddy herself. With an exaggerated 'Oh dear God', he mocked trying to escape through the doors again, only to find that she had pressed a button to shut the doors quickly, trapping him inside. Lowering his head in defeat he waited for her to yell his three least favourite words. Clinic. Duty. Now. He wasn't disappointed.

"House, what the hell do you think you're doing, turning up at ten o'clock! You were rostered for the clinic since nine!" she shouted.

"Aww, rats. I had no idea I was missing out on clinic duty! I would have definitely made an effort to come in earlier if I had known," House snarked back.

"Ignorance is bliss then, I suppose," shot Cuddy, a scowl on her face.

House's smirk dropped slightly as he was immediately reminded of the time he had made a bet with Cameron that their patient's wife was poisoning him- attempting to kill her own husband. She had bet against him, probably standing up for a belief she held that all marriages were happy and perfect. Along with this, he was also reminded of an image of her pulling a small wad of notes out from where it was tucked inside the waistband of her pants. The soft creamy bit of skin he had seen as she lifted up her top slightly was something he wasn't inclined nor willing to forget in a hurry.

"Have you been listening to a word I've said?" screeched Cuddy, breaking House from his thoughts.

Thankfully for House, the elevator doors slid open with a ding before he had a chance to reply, and he limped quickly out leaving Cuddy inside. She must have realised that it was pointless to follow him any further, because he didn't hear the click-clack of her heels on the hospital floor (an ominous sound) behind him as he headed for his office. At the last minute, he changed his mind and went into the conference room instead, only to be faced with his two employees doing their usual activities in an extremely sluggish manner, and bearing 'thank god it's Friday' expressions on their tired faces.

"Do we have a case, people? Or is it 'Bum Around and Imitate Sloths' day today?" he barked as he limped into the room.

Looking up, Foreman replied, "Nope, no cases."

"Good. You're on clinic duty then," House replied.

"Aren't you supposed to be on now?" said Foreman indignantly.

"Not anymore," said House, giving Foreman an evil smirk, before he turned to go into his office.

His desk was in disarray, masses of unopened and unsorted mail covered it, which House had to sift through to reach his everyday items. His email inbox wasn't much better, so he had decided to avoid it completely now. House had also been reduced to going up to immunology to get his coffee, having decided that both Chase and Foreman were useless at making it. How on earth Immunology managed to have better coffee than any other department, he would never know, (he had tried all of them over the course of the week) but he chalked it up to a strange correlation between immunologists and really good coffee. Luckily, his own immunologist would be back on Monday, along with perfect coffee that he didn't have to walk phenomenal distances to get. With this in mind, he walked less grudgingly to Immunology, thankful that it was the last time he would have to do so for a while.

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Organ strains filled the local parish church to which her mother had once been an active member, and Cameron sat in the front row, Chris on one side with Rachael next to him, and Scott on the other side, who had been shooting concerned glances at her intermittently throughout the service. In truth, Cameron didn't feel as bad as she had thought she would. The service was beautiful, just as her mother deserved it to be and her brother had arranged for all her favourite songs to be played. Several bunches of lilies, which were her favourite flower, lined the altar, and a large bouquet was placed on her coffin. There had been a viewing ceremony before the mass, allowing friends and family to say goodbye before the coffin was closed. Cameron had kissed her mother's forehead and brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes, whispering a soft goodbye. She had delivered her eulogy towards the end of the mass, and yes, she had been crying heartily at times, but she managed to speak coherently majority of the time. When she went to sit down again, Scott had squeezed her hand and held it for the rest of the mass, rubbing small circles with his thumb. Now, as her brother, Scott, Jacob, and three friends and active members of the church with her mother, moved up to the altar and began to lift the casket in order to slowly carry it out to the hearse. Cameron stood along with the rest of the church, and bowed their heads as the procession passed them. Once the casket had left the church, closest friends and family proceeded out to follow the hearse to the burial place. Cameron moved with Marie, Josephine, Rachael and Bec out to join her brother, Scott and Jacob and they embraced each of the others in turn, offering comfort for their grief.

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Cameron sat on the comfortable couch that sat in Scott's living room. He lived directly across the road from her brother's house, which was how she had come to meet him originally about six years ago. He'd moved in two days after her 25th birthday, and her brother (being the welcoming person that he was) offered to help him get his stuff organised and settled. Scott Barton had been alone in Indiana, with no family or friends, as they all lived in New York. He had felt he needed to get away from the big apple, so he had relocated here. Cameron had gone across to help her brother, only to come face to face with one of the most handsome men she had ever met. He had silky soft dark hair, deep chocolaty brown eyes, a tall, lean build, and a smile that made her want to grin broadly back for no reason at all. It took a week to move all of his possessions in, and on the last day, he pulled her aside and asked her if she wanted to go get something to eat with him afterwards. She said yes, and he blessed her with one of his dazzling smiles. When they were all done, she and Chris went back to their house, and Scott told her that he would be over to pick her up at about 7'oclock. Cameron had hurried to the room where she had been staying while at her brother's, and looked through all her clothes to find the perfect thing to wear. In the end, she had decided upon a flowing, light green dress, and wore her hair down. They hit it off on the date, and she found out that he was very artistic, particularly with music. He played the guitar, the saxophone and the trombone. By the end of the evening it was as though they had always been together. Outside her house, he asked her out again, and when she said yes, he kissed her gently on the cheek. Whispering goodnight he got into his car only to drive it a short distance across the road and into his driveway. When he got out they looked at each other across the road and then burst out laughing simultaneously. That was how their first date had gone.

They had been dating for two and a half years, when Cameron got two job offers, one to work as a fellow under Dr. Harrison and the other to work under Dr. House. Her mother and brother urged her to at least go to the interviews, so she did. Dr Harrison was based in New York, while Dr House was in New Jersey. Both hospitals accepted her, so she had to choose between them. She had heard about the world renowned Dr. House and decided to go to Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. When she had told Scott, he was devastated, but they both managed to agree that a long distance relationship just wouldn't work out. So they parted ways. Now, six years later, she sat once again in his house, waiting for him to bring them both a warm mug of cocoa. Smiling, Scott handed her a steaming mug, and sat down on the couch next to her to drink his own mug.

After a few minutes he said, "Are you alright Ally, you still look a bit pale."

"I feel fine, maybe I'm coming down with something," she replied.

Scott swirled his remaining cocoa in the mug thoughtfully, before saying, "I never dreamed I'd ever see you again, Alison. I never did find anyone quite like you again."

Reaching over to squeeze his knee, she moved closer and said softly, "I know. I've missed you these past few years, but I think our decision was for the best, a long distance relationship wouldn't really have worked for us."

"I suppose you're right," he said, finally.

A few minutes passed in silence, until Cameron began to feel slightly awkward.

To break the tension, she said, "Why don't you play something for me? I haven't heard you play in a while."

He smiled at this, and got up and went towards an elegant piano that Cameron didn't remember seeing here before.

"Since when do you play piano?" she said playfully.

"I started learning a few months after you left," he replied, head bowed as he positioned his fingers on the keys.

When he started to play, Cameron remembered that House played the piano and she closed her eyes to let the music wash over her. She had glimpsed the Steinway piano in his living room when she had gone to offer her resignation. He had most likely played for years and was probably a great deal more accomplished at it than Scott was. The melody ended and she opened her eyes and clapped softly. He smiled at her over the piano and began to play a slightly more jazzy piece.

A little later when she heard the grandfather clock strike eleven, she looked over at him and said, "I'd better be going."

He nodded and they went over to his door. When they were there, he took her hand and said, "I'll say my goodbyes now, because I have a gig tomorrow so I won't be able to send you off at the airport."

She turned towards him and said softly, "Goodbye Scott, I hope I'll see you next time I'm visiting Chris. Good luck with the gig tomorrow."

He smiled and she reached up and kissed him softly on the lips and then squeezed his hand before letting go to open the door. With a last smile, she walked across the road back to Chris' house.

To Be Continued...

**Author Note:** I've just realised that I've been calling Cameron "Allison" instead of "Alison" (arrgghh) but now I've reverted back to Alison. Also, their living arrangements are a little bit off, I didn't mean to have Chris owning a house at 20 (oops), but oh well, blunders happen. Finally, the stuff I wrote about her job offers may be not be that accurate, (sheepish grin) so please forgive me if it's way off.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: House is not mine. God I wish he was though.

Rating: M... smutty business today folks...  


Pairings: House/Cameron

Spoilers: Umm not sure but I'll say Seasons 1 and 2 just to be sure.

**Addiction: Chapter Six**

Sitting in his office, Dr Gregory House tossed his grey and red ball up in the air and caught it again. He repeated this action several times before tossing the ball onto his desk, atop the yet-to-be-sorted piles of mail that covered it. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the small container, which held his Vicodin and popped two of them into his mouth and set the bottle on his desk, massaging his right thigh with his hand. The motorbike did that to his leg every time, but he would always conveniently forget about the pain while riding, until a half hour later when the pain finally kicked in. Having a bum leg sucked. Standing up, he limped into the conference room, expected to find all three of his ducklings, but found only the recently returned duckling sitting at the table skimming over what looked like a new case.

"New case?" he said loudly.

"Yes. 37 year old female, fever, headache, pneumonia, malaise," Cameron reeled off as she stood to get a mug of coffee.

"Did you get a history? Where's Mutt and Jeff?" he said, going over to pick up the patient file.

"I got a pretty basic history. She's on holiday here, she lives in Australia. Hasn't had any severe illness before, and there's nothing in the family history," she said, then with a smile she added, "_Jeff's_ down in Neurology, and _Mutt's_ on clinic duty."

House nodded, a slight smile on his lips, "Go get Jeff and do the regular party mix of tests. When you're done, drag Mutt up here for the differential."

After Cameron left, he sat on one of the chairs around the glass table in the centre of the conference room. Leaning back on the chair, he sighed, frustrated. He was back to fighting the temptation to... to... hell, he wasn't even sure what it was he wanted anymore. One minute he was shunning Cameron, the next he was practically pouncing on her. He didn't know what to do anymore, and being out of control was _not_ a feeling Gregory House liked _at all_. He had thought this before, and he was really believing it now: she was addictive. Like a drug, except worse. She lowered his inhibitions, until he had almost no control over his actions and then he would end up almost completely surrendering to her. Lost in his thoughts, he hardly noticed Foreman, Cameron and Chase taking their seats around the table and looking at him expectantly.

Finally he looked over at them and said, "Differential diagnosis, people. What have the tests told us so far?"

They began rattling off possible diseases, based on the results from the lumbar puncture. House wrote the more likely ones on the white board, and scoffed at the ones that were unlikely. He ordered them to go "do their thing", and stood in front of the white board tapping the curved handle of his cane against it. Headache, fever, pneumonia, malaise. Pneumonia, headache, malaise, fever. These symptoms swirled around his brain, temporarily distracting him from his thoughts of Cameron. His best guess was rat-bite fever, which presented with all of these symptoms, as well as myalgia and rashes. Foreman had mentioned though, that she definitely didn't have any sort of rash, but had been complaining of achy muscles. What irritated him most was, that he knew the fact that she lived in Australia probably had something to do with it, and that the answer was probably lurking elusively in the back of his mind. Limping over to the coffee machine, he saw the someone had already made it, (it had better have been Cameron) so he poured himself a mug and sat down at the head of the table, reaching to grab the abandoned case file and examining it once again.

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Cameron leaned in to look through the eyepiece of the microscope. Using the knob on the side of the device, she adjusted the magnification until the image was clear. After noting down some information, she pulled another folder from the pile and did the same. She found lab work pretty bleak, but it was an excellent distraction from the happenings of her life as well as allowing herself to isolate herself from the congested main hospital. Shivering slightly, she pulled her white lab coat tighter around her body. She pondered House's behaviour before, during the differential session. At first she had thought he was trying not to look at her at all, but once she caught him gazing at her while she wasn't looking, but looked away hastily when she happened to catch him. He had been acting strangely ever since they had kissed on the evening of the fundraising function. The one thing she knew for sure was: she probably would never understand that man. Smiling to herself and shaking her head slightly, she moved to get a new box of slides from the cabinet on the other side of the room.

After a couple of hours doing lab work, she decided to call it a day (or rather, night), so she packed up the remaining files and then made her way back to Diagnostics. There was hardly anyone around as she stopped at the locker room to ditch her lab coat, before getting into the elevator and walking down the hallway until she reached the conference room. A quick glance at her watch told her why: it was almost nine, so most doctors would have gone home already. Foreman and Chase would have left hours ago, and when she glanced into House's office, she saw that it too was deserted. Walking over to her desk she flipped on the desk lamp and began to sort the mess of paperwork that had gathered on her desk over the past week. A couple needed to be signed by House, so she stood to go and leave them on his desk. Upon entering the dark office, and crossing over to his desk, she noticed that the small bottle that held his Vicodin was sitting on top of a cream folder, obviously forgotten by its owner. She tossed the papers she had come in with onto his desk, before picking up the bottle of pills. Biting her lip, she knew he would need them pretty soon, if not already, as the last time she had seen him take his dose was at least three hours ago. Sighing, she pocketed the bottle, making the decision to stop by his place on her way home to give him his pills. She returned to her desk, gathering her belongings, shouldering her satchel and switching off her lamp.

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House sat hunched over his piano, playing a Bach piece, then fluidly switched to one of his own compositions. A few minutes later he stopped abruptly, and moved his right hand off the keys to knead his throbbing thigh. He could only divert himself for so long before the pain became unbearable and seized his whole attention. He couldn't believe he had forgotten his pills. His choices were fucking _fantastic_ too: he could either go all the way back to the hospital for them- in excruciating pain, _or_, try to last through the night- in excruciating pain. He made his way over to the couch and sat down, tilting his head back to rest on the back of it. He had just closed his eyes when he heard a series of knocks on his front door. Cursing, he stood and limped to the door, pausing to look through the peephole. _Shit_. Cameron. What was she doing here? He was lucky his aching leg rendered him out of commission since he could hardly trust himself around her recently. Opening the door, he calmly waited for her to speak.

"Uh, you left your pills... I thought you'd probably need them," Cameron said hastily.

House nodded, trying to hide his enormous gratitude, as she handed him the bottle. "Do you like scotch?" he said before turning to limp back inside.

Cameron took this as some kind of an invitation for her to go inside, so she stepped over the threshold and closed his door behind her. He had already left for the kitchen so she was free to gaze around his cluttered townhouse. It was dimly lit, but looking around, she thought that it suited House perfectly. In the kitchen, House cupped two pills quickly to his mouth, swallowing them dry. Pouring two glasses of scotch, he carried them and the bottle into the living room where Cameron was now seated on the couch. He sat down next to her, handing her one of the glasses and putting the bottle on the coffee table. They sat together on the couch, only a few inches separating them, in comfortable silence. She wasn't sure what it was that made it comfortable, she just knew that it was: for both of them.

A bit later, Cameron glanced at the clock and saw that it was half-past ten. She looked sideways at House, who was swirling his second scotch around in his glass, the ice making chinking sounds as it collided with the sides of the glass.

She spoke softly. "Maybe I should go now."

He looked up at her swiftly, trying to read the emotions in her eyes, but at the same time, trying to hide the emotions in his. He didn't _want_ her to go. He just didn't know how to tell her that. Most of all, he shouldn't _want_ to tell her that. She must have mistaken his sharp look, because she stood abruptly and moved past him towards the door. Before he knew what he was doing he rose quickly and followed her. When she reached the door she turned around and looked at him. Heart pounding in his chest, he stepped forward, ignoring the nagging thoughts that told him this was a bad idea, and leant down, kissing her gently. He felt her stiffen slightly with surprise, but then return the kiss, moving her lips over his. He deepened the kiss, slipping his tongue into her mouth after she had opened it slightly, and slipping an arm around her waist to pull her closer to him. She placed one of her hands on his chest and one around his neck, and moaned softly when he bit her lip lightly. His stubble was grazing against her, but it only added to the sensuality of the kiss. Reaching up a hand to slide it through her silken hair, cupping her head to bring her closer still, he told himself he had to stop. He had gone through this before: she was too young, too beautiful, too... everything, to be with him. They would only end up hurting each other. Knowing this and actually following through proved to be two completely dissimilar concepts to him. He moved his mouth away from hers to leave small kisses along her jaw, until he reached her ear, where he suckled on her earlobe, winning himself another moan from her. He moved down to her neck, sucking, nipping, licking, and grazing his rough stubble across her smooth skin. Her hands had slid to his sides and she lifted his t-shirt enough for her to slide her hands under and run them over his strong, masculine upper body. He moved his fingers up to push the shoulder of her top aside slightly, and kissed the newly uncovered skin there. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him so that they were backed against the door. He came to his senses suddenly, and looked up at her.

Breathing heavily, he said in a low voice, "Are you sure?"

She looked at him for a moment, and then said softly, "Yes."

She kissed him tenderly, then he pulled her towards his bedroom. Only a small lamp and the moon's rays lit the otherwise dark room, as he wrapped his arms around her again, kissing her fervently. She tugged at the bottom of his shirt, and he lifted his arms so that she could pull it off. Tossing it across the room, she ran her hand down his firm, muscular chest and scraped her nails gently down his sides. He began to undo the first few buttons of her top, kissing her throat and upper chest as he went. She helped him remove the top, and he smiled a cheeky grin up at her when he saw the azure lacy bra she had on. He leant down nipping and licking the soft part of her breast that wasn't cover by the bra. She closed her eyes as his hands moved around to undo the clasp, letting the bra fall from her. He lowered his head to one nipple, swirling his tongue around it, and grazing his teeth against it gently. She threw her head back, groaning at the sensation of his mouth working its magic and his rough stubble rubbing against her. He moved to the other breast to give it a similar treatment, with much the same effect on her. He then pushed her backwards slightly until she was leaning against the bed. Taking the hint, she lay down and he got on top of her, careful to keep his weight off his right leg. He bent down, kissing and licking a trail down from the valley between her breasts towards her belly button, where he paused to dip his tongue inside, before continuing his path down to the edge of her pants. He looked up at her, silently asking permission with his bright blue eyes, and when she nodded, he began to undo the button and zipper of her dress pants. Giving her another smirk when he saw that she had matching panties on underneath, he pulled her pants gently down her legs. Picking up her right foot, he kissed her ankle and then began trailing kisses up her leg. When he reached the inside of her thigh she squirmed underneath him. Moving further until he reached her underwear, he pulled them down her legs and tossed them across the room to join his shirt and the rest of her clothing. She closed her eyes in anticipation as his head moved down to the area between her legs. She wriggled and thrust her hips upward to meet him as she felt his tongue softly tracing her hot folds. He continued his tender ministrations until he reached her entrance, circling the outside with the tip of his tongue before thrusting it in vigorously. Minutes later, she went rigid beneath him as her climax washed over her. When she recovered, she reached up and rolled him over onto his back and moved to unzip his pants. She looked up at him and saw that he looked slightly perturbed. Guessing what was bothering him, she immediately leant over and turned off the side lamp so that the room was fairly dark, save for the moonlight streaming in through the window. Shifting back again, she was surprised when he suddenly pulled her close and kissed her deeply.

She broke the kiss, breathing heavily. "Condoms?"

"Top drawer," he managed to say gruffly.

He quickly dispensed of his pants and boxers, before pulling her on top of him once again. Positioning himself at her entrance, he sought her eyes in the dark and didn't break his gaze as he slid into her. They each closed their eyes and they began to move rhythmically together, grinding together. He was so close to his release but he wanted her to come one last time before he did. He soon got his wish as Cameron began pumping harder against him, her head thrown back at the sensations flowing through her, breathing his name. Unable to hold on any longer, he exploded inside her, his head falling forwards to rest on her shoulder, where he grunted, "Allison".

Spent, they lay together breathing heavily. Cameron rolled over to the right side of the bed, assuming that House wasn't they type to 'snuggle', but was surprised to feel his strong arm sliding around her waist and pulling her so that they were spooned together under the covers. Grinning broadly at this, she was unaware that above her, House was grinning in much the same way.

TBC...

**Author's Note:** Please review!  
By the way, I'm going on holiday for a week (WOO HOO!), so there may not be a new chapter up for a while.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own House. It's lucky for Stacy that I don't. I have several ideas for her, all of which involve her dying an excruciatingly painful death. (Yep, I hate her that much.)

Rating: M

Pairings: House/Cameron

Spoilers: Umm not sure but I'll say Seasons 1 and 2 just to be sure.

**Addiction: Chapter Seven**

Opening his eyes slowly, House squinted slightly, getting used to the sunlight which was shining in through the window. He turned his head and saw none other than Alison Cameron lying beside him, sleeping serenely. Her soft hair fell over her bare shoulder, her hand clutching the sheets to her chin. He thought she looked lovelier like this than he had ever seen her. She shifted slightly under the covers, her hand loosening its grip on the sheets a little.

He took one last look at her before slipping carefully out of the bed, careful not to wake her from her slumber. He limped heavily over to his various articles of clothing, which were strewn around the room along with his cane, which was lying next to the door. Grabbing his pants, he pulled the small bottle that held his pills out, and took two. He dressed, and then walked over to pull the curtains closed, before he left the room quietly. When he reached the kitchen he headed straight for the coffee machine to wake himself up properly. As he waited for it to make his coffee, he thought about Cameron and what he had gotten himself into. He had done it. He had finally done what he had vowed he wouldn't do. He had succumbed to her and he knew that there was no turning back now. That didn't mean that he wasn't freaked out at all. Stacy had ruined him for having relationships since she had left, and now he was slightly terrified at the concept of starting something with Alison Cameron. At the same time, he wasn't so sure he wanted to keep pushing her away. It obviously hadn't worked, and he was a little tired of holding back, and for reasons that she apparently didn't seem to care about anyway. He wondered what his next course of action would be. He poured himself a mug of coffee and sat down on the couch. Although he greatly feared hurting her in any way, he couldn't help but wonder if he himself would survive being hurt this time.

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Dr Alison Cameron awoke to find that she wasn't in her own bed. Frowning slightly, she looked around the darkened room, taking in her surroundings as she remembered her night with him. She closed her eyes, her lips turned up ever so slightly at the corners. The small smile was gone a few seconds later. She wondered what would happen now. Would he treat her like crap or push her away completely? She couldn't bear that thought and would not let him do any such thing. After all, he _had_ initiated it last night. Stretching she got out of bed, pulling the sheets with her to cover herself with. She padded out into the lounge room to find House sitting on the couch staring absently at the television screen, nursing a steaming mug of coffee. He turned around as soon as she had entered the room (the sound of sheets dragging along the floor had tipped him off) and gazed at her, waiting for her to say something.

"Morning," she said simply.

He nodded and said, "I made coffee."

She smiled a small smile and said, "Thanks. What's for breakfast?"

He eyed her cautiously before saying, "What do feel like?"

She shrugged, "Anything will be fine."

Cameron proceeded to the kitchen and upon finding where he kept his mugs, poured herself a cup of coffee. She sipped it and closed her eyes slowly as the warm liquid slid down her throat. She decided to give House some space and drink her coffee in the kitchen. As much as she wouldn't let him push her away, she did recognise that he would probably appreciate some space to comprehend this new turn of events between them. When she had drained her mug, she washed it in the sink and placed it on the drainer along with several other dishes and cutlery. She returned to the living room to find that he was still on the couch, now watching the antics of Spongebob Squarepants and Patrick Star.

Suppressing a smirk, she managed to ask, "Would it be alright if I took a shower?"

Shifting his eyes towards her, he nodded and turned back to the TV. She continued her path back to his bedroom where all her clothes were spread around in various locations. After gathering them all together, she took a quick shower, before putting on her work clothes from yesterday on again. Tying her hair up, she ventured back to the living room, this time to find House gone, but Spongebob still lighting up the television screen. Puzzled, she went into the kitchen, thinking that he may have gotten up for a refill of coffee. She found him by the stove frying scrambled eggs, bacon rashers already sitting on a plate beside the stove. This time he didn't turn when she entered the kitchen, instead concentrating on the eggs. He couldn't screw this up. He wanted to do this as a sign of his intentions regarding their relationship, but now he wasn't so sure she would get the message. He sure as hell couldn't tell her. Nervously, he tipped the eggs onto two plates and turned the stove off. Dividing the bacon rashers between the two plates, he carried them both to the lounge room, setting them on the coffee table, before returning to the kitchen for cutlery and salt and pepper. He avoided looking directly at Cameron, who seemed to be in shock at his actions, standing still and watching him by the sink. He was sitting on the couch and about to pick up his plate when Cameron finally decided to come and eat. She sat down next to him and picked up her plate as well.

After a few bites, Cameron turned to House and said, "This is really good."

Without looking up he said, "I wouldn't have taken you to be a Spongebob fan, but stranger things have happened I guess."

She rolled her eye and smiled, "I was talking about _breakfast_."

His eyes locked with hers for a moment, then he looked back at the television and said, "Does that mean you don't like Spongebob?"

She raised an eyebrow, her lips curling into a slight smirk, "You want to know if I enjoy watching the jaunts of a personified cleaning implement wearing pants? Yeah, I suppose it _is_ quite entertaining."

He grinned at her, "If you don't like it, change the channel then. Good luck finding something remotely bearable at this time of the morning," he said, handing her the remote control.

"It's 7:30, there's a little something I like to call 'the news' on right about now," she said, flicking through the channels.

They sat back against the couch, having finished their food, both inwardly smiling at the playful banter that they had just engaged in. All in all, it wasn't the excruciatingly awkward morning-after that House had been expecting. Cameron hadn't asked him what their relationship was going to be like now, or what his feelings were. He contemplated asking her to come over to the condo again tonight, but decided that he wasn't so sure about rushing into anything with her. It hadn't worked so well the last time with Stacy.

Cameron turned to glance at him, "Shouldn't you start getting ready for work now?"

"Nope. Don't forget, I'm not due in until ten."

"Actually you're due in at eight; everyone just _expects_ you to be in at ten."

Cameron rose from the couch as she said this, picking up his plate and hers before going into the kitchen to wash them.

Walking back into the living room, she rolled her eyes when she saw that Spongebob Squarepants was back on again (there must a goddamn marathon on or something), "I'd better go now. I have to stop by at my apartment for a change of clothes."

When House simply turned and nodded at her, saying a short "bye", she walked over to where he sat on the couch, standing in front of him, blocking his view of the television. He glared at her, but stopped when she leant down and kissed him soundly, one hand resting on his cheek. He kissed her back thoroughly, until they separated, breathing heavily.

She straightened up again and smiled down at him. With a flirty, "See you at work," she turned and walked out of the townhouse.

House remained leaning forward for a few minutes, before flopping back, a grin on his face.

Maybe being addicted to her wasn't so bad after all.

TBC

**Author Note:** Please review! I hope it wasn't too OOC, but I enjoy writing a bit of fluffiness.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I definitely don't own House. Or Sponge Bob.

Rating: M

Pairings: House/Cameron

Spoilers: Umm not sure but I'll say Seasons 1 and 2 just to be sure.

**Addiction: Chapter Eight**

"House! You were scheduled for the clinic _two_ _hours ago_..."

The rest of Cuddy's tirade was drowned out as House jammed the button to close the elevator doors, managing to squeeze in a sarcastic wave to a fast disappearing Cuddy, before the polished metal doors slid shut. Stepping out of the elevator as he reached his level, he was still in high spirits, mentally congratulating himself on a job well done escaping the dreaded clinic. His elated mood fell, as he saw Cameron place a mug of coffee in front of Chase, smiling sweetly at him. Foreman was absent. His grip on his cane tightened considerably when he saw Chase smile charmingly back at her. This was ridiculous. Although this scene was hardly normal, it certainly wasn't something to get so angry about- jealous even. In fact, if he were to walk in there now, he would bet his Gameboy, his piano, _and_ his favourite bottle of vintage whiskey, that Cameron would jump up immediately and make him a cup of coffee too. Completely sure of himself, he strutted into the conference room.

Sitting down next to Cameron, he said to Chase, "Soooo, Patrick... where's Sponge Bob?"

Beside him, Cameron let out a snort of laughter, which she quickly turned into a small cough.

"And you, Sandy Cheeks, where's my coffee?" he said, trying to hide his surprise (and disappointment), that she hadn't leapt up to make him a mug as well when he'd entered.

"Coming right up, Mr Squidward Tentacles, sir," she replied in a serious voice.

Chase gave them both a look that clearly showed that he thought they were nuts, and took another sip of his drink.

House had to hand it to her: after (supposedly) only one viewing she had already picked up on his likenesses to Mr Tentacles. He allowed himself to smirk for a few seconds before turning to Chase to question him about the patient.

"I haven't been to see her recently, I was working in the clinic all yesterday afternoon," he said quickly.

"Shame. I'd have thought you'd be 'mates' by now. You could have a barbeque together, maybe even a sheep-shearing contest or whatever it is you Aussies do –" House stopped his speech abruptly, making Cameron and Chase stare at him curiously.

His blue eyes gazing at a spot across the room, he said quietly, "In the history, did she say anything about living or working on a farm?"

"No. Why?" asked Chase.

"Ask. Now." House snapped at Chase, "_Go_."

Chase left the room hastily, leaving House and Cameron alone together.

House contemplated casually asking Cameron to come over again that night, but decided against it. He reminded himself that rushing into things wasn't a good idea. Besides, she appeared to be having tonnes of fun with the Wombat. Without another word or glance at Cameron, he stood and limped into his office. Cameron turned with a steaming mug of coffee in hand to find the room empty.

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House heaved himself out of his chair with the intention of finally getting a coffee. Finding the conference room deserted, he poured himself a cup and sat down in one of the chairs, staring at the symptoms on the board, but not really seeing them. This thing with Cameron was absurd. Now that he had calmed down, he decided that she quite possibly wasn't flirting with Chase at all, and that he was being over possessive and/or jealous. That was what knocked him for a loop the most. Although he knew that once he slept with her, his feelings towards her would only increase, he didn't expect to find himself wanting to inflict bodily harm on Chase just for _smiling_ at her.

He was once again considering asking Cameron to come over again tonight, when a mobile phone rang out, the sound breaking the pensive silence that filled the room. House thought it sounded like it was coming from Cameron's desk, and decided to just let it ring out. Tapping his cane against the ground, he became impatient when it continued to ring for a minute or more. Someone was obviously desperate to speak to Alison Cameron. Crossing over to her desk, he located the small black phone sitting atop some files in the middle of the desk. Picking it up he looked at the caller ID, which read "Scott".

Slightly suspicious now, he flipped it open and said, "Cameron's phone."

"Who is this?" came a man's voice from the other end.

"I might ask the same of you," he snapped back.

"Scott, ...an old friend of Alison's. Can I please speak to her?"

House frowned and said, "She isn't here. This is her boss."

"Uh, could you give her a message? It's just that I have a gig for a few hours, so I won't be able to call again," said Scott hurriedly.

"Yeah, whatever," came the gruff reply.

"Could you tell her that I'm back in town again and that I'd love it if we could go out to dinner tonight at about seven o'clock," Scott said, "Thanks."

"Yeah, I'll tell her," said House before shutting the phone and tossing it back on top of the files.

Walking into his office (completely forgetting his barely-touched coffee) he sat on his chair and picked up his red and grey ball. He hurled it against the wall and caught it again, satisfied with the loud crashing noise it made. Great. Now, not only did he have Kangaroo Boy to worry about, he had some outsider who was apparently 'in town' and performing 'gigs'. Not to mention his slight hesitation before finally calling himself 'an old friend', after House asked him who he was. Something about that guy just rubbed House the wrong way, and House was willing to bet everything he owned that _Scott_ and Cameron were more than just friends.

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She couldn't believe it. Occasionally she wondered jokingly whether or not he suffered from bipolar disorder. Now she was actually starting to wonder. House had been playful this morning (as playful as a cranky, misanthrope could be) and now he was flat out ignoring her. He had left without a single word to her into his office after sending Chase off to ask the patient about living on a farm and when Chase had returned he simply said, "Q Fever," before leaving the conference room and limping down the hallway. House hadn't even waited for Chase to affirm that the patient did indeed live on a farm (which Chase did a few seconds later anyway).

Stuffing a few forms into a manila folder, she went to deposit these on House's desk, before checking her watch and realising that she should be in the clinic in three minutes time. Hurrying out to the elevators, she stepped into the left one as soon as its doors opened. Inside was none other than House himself, who scowled when he saw her enter the elevator. Just what he needed, he thought. Now, he thought, should he tell her that _Scott_ called, or just 'forget' to tell her? Deciding on the latter, he remained silent as the elevator doors slid shut again. It was then that he realised that he had inadvertently forgotten that that was the level he was meant to be heading to. Crap.

"So...are you gonna tell me what's got your panties in a twist?" said Cameron sarcastically, jabbing the emergency stop button with her finger, before crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.

"Lemme think about that... no." he replied.

"You're unbelievable! One minute you're making breakfast for me and laughing at a children's television program, and the next you're _ignoring_ me completely and _scowling_ when I accidentally step into the same elevator as you!" yelled Cameron, her fists clenched at her sides.

Seemingly unaffected by her outburst, he glared at her and said in a quiet but dangerous voice, "Yeah, of course- you've been _completely_ innocent. Hmmm, shall I fuck the pretty boy Australian or the crippled bastard? What a dilemma!"

Cameron just gaped at him. When she finally composed herself again, she said, "Are you insinuating that there's something going on between Chase and I? Because you couldn't be more wrong. You mean you've been sulking all day just because you think I like _Chase_?"

Feeling slightly foolish, he kept quiet.

Stepping forward and placing a hand on House's arm, she said softly, "Look, I don't know why you're fixated with the idea that I'm interested in Chase, but I'm telling you now, that I am not attracted to him at all."

Turning to look at her, he saw that her eyes were pleading with him to believe her. When he nodded, she gave him a small smile.

It was then that he felt something that he very rarely ever felt: guilt. He felt guilty for not telling her that Scott had called. But he knew that if she went out with Scott, she would probably forget all about him and what they had going now, and (yes, he could admit it to himself) that was something he definitely didn't want.

Pretending to be interested in studying the various buttons on the wall of the elevator and said in a nonchalantly, "Do you want to come over for takeout tonight?"

Trying to hide the wide grin that threatened to take over her face, she said casually, "Sure. Seven o'clock?"

He nodded, a foreign pang of guilt inside him once more as he remembered that that was when Scott _thought_ he would be going to dinner with Cameron.

TBC...

**Author's Note:** Hope everyone's still enjoying it, thanks for bearing with me so far. I don't really like this chapter... but I've changed it around and fixed it up so many times until I couldn't bear to look at it anymore: so I posted it. I'm really hoping I'll do better on the next chapter. Thanks once again for bearing with me. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. :)


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I still don't own House. Bummer.

Rating: M

Pairings: House/Cameron

Spoilers: Umm not sure but I'll say Seasons 1 and 2 just to be sure.

I've _completely _rewritten the end. I wasn't really that happy with it to begin with anyway, but hearing that you agreed made me decide to change it. See how important it is to review? Hint, hint. :)

**Addiction: Chapter Nine**

Dr Alison Cameron parked her car carefully on the curb outside of House's townhouse. Getting out of the car and walking up to his door, she knocked on the dark wood before looking down at her feet, waiting for him to open the door. Just when she had started to get impatient, the door swung open and he was there, clad in a dark pair of jeans and an old Gravedigger shirt. He gave her a small nod then turned and limped back inside, disappearing into the kitchen. She stepped inside and shut the door, taking off her jacket and tossing it over the back of the couch. Wondering if he'd ordered the food yet she walked over to the kitchen and found him taking several boxes out of a paper bag. Deciding to make herself useful, she peeked into a few cupboards until she found the one that he kept the plates in and pulled two out.

"What are you doing?" he said, "You can't truly enjoy Chinese takeout unless you eat it straight out of the box."

Raising an eyebrow, she said, "Or is it that you're too lazy to wash up if you use plates?"

Looking up at her briefly, he said, "That too."

She returned the plates back to the cupboard and helped him carry the boxes out to the living room. He put on reruns of General Hospital from the TiVo and they ate in silence. After they were done, Cameron was surprised when House stacked all the boxes and went to put them in the kitchen. Glancing at her watch she saw that it was twenty past seven. Suddenly her phone rang, and she grabbed her jacket from the back of the couch and pulled it out of the left pocket. Looking at the caller ID she was surprised to see that it was Scott calling her.

Flipping it open, she said, "Hi Scott."

"Alison? Where are you?" he said, sounding a bit impatient.

"Uh, I'm at a friend's place. How come you're calling me? Is everything okay?" she asked puzzled.

"Well I'm at the restaurant and I've been waiting for ages and you haven't shown up so I was worried. You did get my message didn't you? Your boss said he'd tell you."

Cameron seethed with anger upon realising what had happened. She managed to calm down enough to say, "Scott, I am so sorry. Was I supposed to meet you for dinner? I haven't seen my boss all afternoon so he must have forgotten to tell me. Can we meet again tomorrow? How long are you staying for?"

"No can do, I'm leaving tomorrow morning at about six. Don't worry about it, I'll see you when you come and visit Chris," Scott said.

"I can come to the restaurant. If you wait I can be there in about an hour, because I have to go back home and change and- " she said hurriedly, seeing House step out of the kitchen, then quickly limp back again after hearing her words. Her anger tripled.

"Ally, it's alright. Really, I'll see you another time. Besides I don't fancy sitting here for another hour. Just stay at your friend's place and enjoy yourself. I'll talk to you another time, Alison," he said sincerely.

Giving up, she said softly, "Okay. I might be over for Christmas, but I'm not sure. Bye, Scott."

Snapping the phone shut, she stuffed it back in her jacket before standing up and marching into the kitchen. House was stirring a fresh mug of coffee, thinking, _fuck_, _I'm really in the deep shit now. _

He ignored her as she entered the room but couldn't help but flinch slightly when she bellowed, "What the hell gave you the idea that you could do something like that? You have absolutely _no_ right to meddle in my personal life!"

House avoided her gaze and stared at his coffee mug. He wasn't stupid enough to say anything snarky this time. She glowered at him before whipping around and marching back out of the kitchen. He remained still for a few seconds before, limping as fast as he could out into the living room. She was zipping up her jacket and striding to the door. As she turned the handle to open it, he held her upper-arm to stop her.

Still facing the door, she said angrily, "Let me go."

"No. You're going to hear me out. Then you can decide whether you want to leave or not," he snarled.

Slowly she turned around to look at him. He looked away from her after he saw slight wetness at the corners of her eyes. Why did he always end up doing this?

He looked back at her and opened his mouth to say something, but closed it instead. He couldn't tell her. Even if he wanted to, he wasn't entirely sure if his throat would co-operate.

Her blue-green eyes bored into his, before she blinked, and a tiny, lone tear escaped from her eye. She whipped around and opened the door, and without another word she stepped out and slammed it shut.

TBC...

**Author's Note:** Please review!!! I love getting them so much and they make my day. Anyways, sorry this is a very short chapter but I've been _really_ busy recently with assignments and stuff.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: House is not mine.

Rating: M for smut

Pairings: House/Cameron

Spoilers: Umm not sure but I'll say Seasons 1 and 2 just to be sure.

**Important: Make sure you've read the _new_ Chapter 9 or you won't understand what the hell is happening in this chapter.**

**Addiction: Chapter Ten**

House opened his eyes, immediately discovering that he had been asleep on the couch, the television blaring some asinine early morning program. His watch told him that it was two-thirty in the morning, and the needle pains stabbing his leg told him that he needed Vicodin immediately. Cupping two pills to his mouth, he swallowed them with difficulty owing to his parched throat. Remembering the events of last night, he closed his eyes, willing his mind to stop showing him the image of Cameron standing by the door, close to tears.

Rubbing his eyes and switching off the TV, he stood and moved to the kitchen. Grabbing a glass he poured himself some water and gulped it down quickly. The apartment was deadly still and silent, the sky outside inky black. His undrunk coffee from last night sat on the counter, the empty boxes of Chinese sat by the sink. He ran a hand through his hair agitatedly and limped out of the kitchen to his bedroom. Stripping down to just a T-shirt and boxers, he slid under the covers. Rolling over, his last thought before falling into a restless sleep was that the pillows still smelled of her perfume.

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Cameron sat in her car in the car park of PPTH, determined not to let anyone notice anything different about her that day. Of course, she herself could see that her eyes lacked their normal lustre and had bags under them (she hadn't been able to sleep last night). She stepped out of her car and walked into the hospital resolutely.

Entering the conference room, she went over to the kitchenette to brew some coffee as usual, and then walked into House's office to sort his mail. She had decided that it would extremely childish, not to mention glaringly obvious to anyone else that something was up, if she didn't organize his mail as she always did. She almost jumped out of her skin however, to find House himself sitting in his office chair playing his Gameboy.

He ignored her presence completely, so she said curtly, "If you want me to sort your mail, you have to move."

Without looking up, he said calmly, "You'll still sort my mail? How professional of you."

Crossing her arms, she said, "I suppose so. Are you going to get up or not? There are some gels I could be running instead."

Switching off his Gameboy, House finally looked up at her. Apart from the bags under her eyes, she seemed totally unaffected by what had happened the night before. He stood and limped up to her until there were only a few inches separating them. Cameron moved to step away, but he held her arm and made her look at him. Up close, he could immediately see that he was wrong. There was one other clue that last night had affected her. Her eyes had a strange dullness to them that he had never seen before.

He continued to look into her eyes, until she wrenched her arm out of his grip and looked away. Moving past him, she sat down in his chair and picked up a pile of referral letters. He watched her for a moment before turning and going out into the conference room. Sitting down in a chair, he waited for the other two ducklings to show up.

Foreman swept in a few minutes later, followed by Chase, and took their seats at the table. House was tapping his cane against the carpet pensively, and Foreman cleared his throat before saying, "We don't have any new cases. We just went to ask Cuddy."

"Dang. Oh well, the clinic beckons," he said flatly, pulling his nametag out of his pocket and tossing it to Chase.

"Why do I always have to do it?" Chase grumbled. "Foreman should do it this time."

"Because your tie makes me want to hurl, so I thought I'd better get you out of here before that happens," House replied scathingly.

Shaking his head, Chase stood and left for the clinic. House ignored Foreman and got up to leave the conference room too. As he passed his office, he saw Cameron still busily sorting through the pile of mail. He sighed and continued along the corridor, not entirely sure where he was going.

He ended up standing on the roof, resting his forearms on the ledge, the breeze ruffling his hair slightly. This was stupid. He couldn't seem to bring himself to apologise to her. Both times he had been about to, he had chickened out. What got to him though was Cameron didn't appear to be angry, just _disappointed_. That further proved what he had known all along. He wasn't good enough for her. He was only good at hurting her.

But he still didn't want to give up. Besides, cartoons were funnier with her.

He left the roof and went back to his office. She was gone, his mail all sorted. He made his way to the lab, remembering her saying something about running gels.

Gripping the cold metal handle, he pushed the glass door open and went inside the lab. She was over by the desk writing something down. He knew that she had heard him enter because her shoulders stiffened a little and she paused before continuing to write fervently.

After a few minutes passed, he looked down at his sneakers, he said almost inaudibly, "Sorry."

She continued to write, and he thought maybe she hadn't heard him, but she suddenly put her pen down. Still facing away from him, she said softly, "What you did was pretty low."

He looked up at her, but remained silent.

She turned slowly and looked at him, before sighing and saying, "Don't do it again. I won't forgive you as fast if there's a next time."

Cameron wondered if it was wise to run straight back into his arms after what he had done, but she recognised his effort to apologise (which was a big deal coming from him). Anyway, she wasn't ready to let go of this new thing they had started, and she was fairly sure that he didn't want to either.

They stared at each other for a moment, before Cameron turned back to her notes. A moment later she heard once again the swish of the lab door shutting.

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Cameron changed into her nightgown and pulled on a robe after soaking in a relaxing bath. Padding back into her living room, she took down a large medical journal from her bookshelf. Curling up on her couch, she had just started to read when someone knocked on the door. Thinking to herself that it had sounded oddly like wood on wood, she pulled the door open to find House standing there.

"House?" she said.

"That's me," he replied.

He stepped past her, coming inside and shutting the door before swiftly pulling her towards him and kissing her hard. She kissed him back, and opened her mouth, allowing his tongue entry. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer still, while she suckled on his tongue, causing him to moan. He nipped, licked and sucked at her neck before sliding her robe off her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor.

"Bed," he growled in her ear before pulling her earlobe into his mouth, grazing it with his teeth before soothing it with his tongue.

She led the way, and as soon as they reached the bed, he pushed her down and climbed on top of her. She started to hastily undo the button of his shirt before pushing it off his shoulders. She lifted up his shirt, scraping his sides lightly with her fingernails, making him groan. He lifted off her nightgown and leant down to take her nipple in his mouth. She gasped and slid her fingers through his hair. He did the same to the other before she flipped him over onto his back and started to undo his pants. Once again he appeared to shift uncomfortably, but she kept going, motioning for him to lift his hips as she slid his pants and boxers down.

When she licked the tip of his length, he almost came up off the bed, forgetting momentarily about his leg. She squeezed him and then took him into her mouth. He shut his eyes firmly and threw his head back onto the pillow. She moved her mouth up and down, until he knew he had to stop her before he exploded right then and there. He tugged on her hair and she released him and looked up. He pulled her up and kissed her, before pushing her onto her back and pulling her underwear off. She closed her eyes as he slid two fingers inside her to check that she was ready for him. He curled his fingers in and she inhaled sharply before watching as he pulled his fingers out and licked her fluid off them.

He positioned himself over her, then pounded into her, which she met with equally forceful thrusts of her hips. She breathed his name as he thrust inside her, hitting the right spots. Her hot, throbbing walls massaged him until he exploded into her, grunting her name. He managed to roll off her before he crushed her and lay back breathing heavily.

When their breathing was more regular, Cameron turned to look at him and saw that his eyes were closed. A content smile played across her lips as she slid under the covers and closed her eyes. House moved next to her and pulled her to him. She kissed his hand and closed her eyes. House fell asleep a moment later.

TBC...

Please review!! They make my day :D Hope this chapter was alright. I'm not sure if it's any good or not (oh dear, I seem to be saying that so often nowadays).


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: My birthday is in 29 days. crosses fingers and hopes for House

Rating: M overall

Pairing: House/Cameron

Spoilers: Umm not sure but I'll say Seasons 1 and 2 just to be sure.

**Addiction: Chapter Eleven**

Cameron poured steaming coffee into House's bright red mug. She carried the hot drink to him in his office, handing it to him with a smile. He continued to watch her as he took a sip, before placing the mug on his desk. She saw that he wanted to say something, but the door to his office was flung open as Foreman swept in, holding a couple of blue files.

"New patient," said Foreman, handing House one of the files, and then giving another one to Cameron.

"Where's Kangaroo-Man?" said House, still scanning the patient file, "Get him up here for a differential."

Foreman left to retrieve Chase, while Cameron remained standing beside the desk. After reading the file, she looked back at House, and found him staring at her.

She looked away from his piercing blue eyes, and fixed her eyes back on her file.

He stood and stepped up beside her. "You look delicious," he whispered in her ear, his breath tickling her skin.

Her pulse quickened considerably and she turned to face him.

He lifted his hand and played with some loose strands of hair beside her face. He leant forward, "In fact, if the two stooges weren't about to return any minute..." he trailed off, before kissing her lightly.

Swiftly he pulled away and walked past her to go into the conference room. She tried to calm her racing heart as she followed him.

Foreman and Chase both walked in and the three of them took their seats around the table, while House stood next to the whiteboard. He picked up the whiteboard marker, looked at it for a second, before tossing it to Cameron, who caught it and looked at him questioningly.

He shrugged and said, "Don't feel like writing, yours is the most legible writing of the minions."

She raised an eyebrow before standing and moving over to the whiteboard.

She had just opened her mouth to begin the differential when House said loudly, "I said I didn't feel like _writing_- I didn't say anything about not wanting to talk."

She rolled her eyes and they finally began discussing the possible diseases.

♥

House barged into Wilson's office to find him scribbling something on various documents in front of him.

"I'm hungry. Feed me," he whined.

Wilson looked up from the papers and raised an eyebrow at him. "If I give you the money will you leave me alone? I've got a lot to do, okay?"

Pretending to brush away a tear, House said is mock sad voice, "Alright, I'll just eat all by myself then."

When Wilson didn't do anything, House said in his normal voice, "Why the hell do you care about doing stupid paperwork? You can come get lunch and then scurry right back up here again if you're so eager."

Sighing Wilson threw his pen down and stood, patting his pocket to make sure his wallet was still there. They went down to the cafeteria and ordered their lunch: a Rueben for House – no pickles- and a Caesar salad for Wilson, which House mocked him for as he payed the woman behind the counter ("_Girl_ food."). House chose a table at a far side and they sat down.

The two of them ate silently at first, but then House said unexpectedly, "I jumped Cameron."

Wilson choked on a piece of lettuce and didn't reply for a few minutes as he tried to swallow it properly. When he had successfully done so, he gaped at House and said, "You _what_? When? How? Why?"

Rolling his eyes theatrically, House said, "I jumped her. Two days ago. I'm pretty sure you know _how_, and I did it because I wanted to. The end."

"Two days ago? How come you didn't tell me?" said Wilson, slightly indignant at being kept out of the loop.

"Yeah, well, I was kind of _busy,_ if you know what I mean," he said lustfully, winking exaggeratedly.

House finished off the sandwich and left Wilson there still wearing an expression of shock on his face, his half-eaten salad forgotten. He made his way back to the conference room with the intention of seeing if their patient was closer to croaking or if the treatment was working. He subconsciously reached into his pocket for his pills, before he realised the last time he had taken one was about three hours ago. Weird.

He walked into the conference room and found Cameron reading a large textbook and Foreman looking over the file once more.

Chase walked in soon after and said that their patient was now experiencing a tingling sensation in her legs, in addition to feeling extremely lethargic and weak.

House looked immediately to Cameron, who was obviously thinking the same as him, because she uttered, "Guillain Barré."

He nodded and turned to Chase, "Put her on a respirator before she becomes paralysed."

He moved over to the whiteboard and began to clean it. Foreman grumbled about having clinic duty now, and he left a few minutes later, leaving Cameron alone at the table.

Cameron got up to make herself another coffee when House gripped her arm and turned her to face him. He pulled her into his office and shut the joining door. She stood by his desk as he shut the blinds and shoved his cane between the door handle so that it couldn't be opened from the outside.

He limped towards her until he was standing right in front of her. She looked up at him expectantly and he pushed her back lightly so that she was leaning against the desk. Bending his head down, he captured her lips with his, resting his hands on the desk on either side of her body. She slipped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him closer to her, while he rubbed her lower back, lifting her top a little to caress her bare skin.

He pushed his left knee in between her legs as he rubbed his stubble down her throat, leaving an angry red burn. She buried her fingers in his hair and tilted her head back. He had just leant back from her to lift the bottom of her powder blue sweater up, when someone rapped loudly on the office door.

Looking up at Cameron, he whispered, "Shh."

She grabbed his hands and whispered, "It could be important!"

With a muttered, "Spoilsport", he stepped back, while she adjusted her clothing. He saw that her neck was still bright red, and wondered if he should tell her so that she could cover it somehow. If he didn't tell her, whoever was outside the door would see it and probably guess what they had been doing and then possibly figure out that they were together.

He watched Cameron thoughtfully for a few seconds before he went over to the door, pulled his cane from between the handles and opened it. Cuddy stepped in and looked immediately over to where Cameron was standing rather awkwardly next to his desk. She noted the Cameron looked slightly dishevelled, as did House (more than he usually did, anyway).

"I presume you know that you are rostered for clinic duty now, since you so cleverly decided to go into hiding in your office," Cuddy said, wearily.

"Brilliant isn't it? I even closed the blinds so that no one could see me in here," he said.

"I'm going to go check on the patient," said Cameron, walking towards the door.

Cuddy frowned as Cameron passed her, as she noticed that the young doctor's neck was bright red. Not having put two and two together yet, she was concerned and placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"Your neck is really red," she said. "Maybe I should take a look at it."

Cameron's eyes widened and she blushed, shaking her head quickly and saying, "Uh, no. It's just a rash. I'll be fine."

Shooting a quick look at House, she walked out of the office swiftly.

House smirked and went over to sit in his chair. Cuddy still looked baffled, but managed to demand that he go and do his clinic hours right away, before leaving the office too.

House pulled his Gameboy from his pocket and started playing. Unbelievable. Cuddy was looking right at him and his two-day stubble, and she still didn't figure it out. How on Earth she got to be Dean of Medicine with (non-existent) observation skills like that mystified him.

He felt a twinge of disappointment.

TBC...

Hope the ending makes sense. Please review!!


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own House.

Rating: M overall

Pairing: House/Cameron

Spoilers: Love Hurts.

This is it: the final chapter. Thanks for sticking with me the whole way through. I appreciate it greatly. Thank you for reading. :)

**Addiction: Chapter Twelve**

He placed his fingers delicately on the ivory keys, before closing his eyes and playing. The melody was rich and calming as it reverberated around the dark townhouse. Schubert's Serenade.

He finished the piece and picked up his conveniently positioned glass of whiskey from the top of the piano. Putting it back after taking a drink, he glanced at his watch. Ten o'clock.

Playing a couple of notes with his left hand, he thought of her. Of the four lonely days since she had been here.

He got to his feet and went over to get his cell phone from inside his jacket pocket. Holding the cool plastic in his fist, he sat down on the couch and flipped it open.

She answered after only a few rings, "Hi."

"Jazz club's got a special guest tonight," he said, wondering if she knew him well enough yet to understand.

She paused, before saying softly, "Oh, really?"

The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, "Yup. Thought you'd want to know."

She smiled. She wondered if he would actually ask her. "So, where is this jazz club? Is it the one on East Broad Street?"

"Never you mind. In fact, a crippled misanthrope in a 1965 'Vette will be ready to escort you there in twenty minutes time," he said, before snapping the phone shut.

He got up and moved to his bedroom, opening the closet to find something halfway decent to throw on. Emerging five minutes later in a navy blue dress shirt (Rolling Stones t-shirt hidden underneath), and a dark pair of jeans, he went over to the piano and took another gulp of his whiskey.

Getting into his Corvette, he cranked up the stereo with some Pink Floyd, speeding off down the streets to Cameron's apartment. He parked out the front and got out. Eying the building, he pulled his Vicodin from his pocket, remembering the killer stairs.

He slipped the small bottle into his pocket and looked up. His breath caught in his throat as he saw Cameron walking towards him. Her hair was loosely pulled up, a few of her silky tresses framing her face. She wore a knee-length emerald green number with thin straps, stilettos completing the outfit.

She smiled and reached up to kiss him. He responded hungrily, but she pulled back fairly quickly and smiled again before walking around to the passenger side of the car. He let out a frustrated breath and got into the car.

They reached the club within a few minutes and went inside the fairly crowded room.

A wizened old man waved enthusiastically at them from the bar and made his way over.

"House! Haven't seen you for aaaaaages!" he hollered.

"Yeah. I've been busy doing stuff," House said flatly.

"Who's the bird? She's a pretty little thing, isn't she?" the obnoxious man continued.

"Alison Cameron," she cut in, "Nice to meet you."

"And could we get a table any time soon, Artie?" said House impatiently.

Artie pointed a gnarled finger toward a table in the very corner, nudging House, and whispering, "There you go, a bit of privacy so you can put the moves on the pretty one."

House didn't reply and they both walked over to the table and sat down next to each other.

Cameron smirked and said, "Lovable guy."

House rolled his eyes and said, "I have to keep reminding myself that the musicians are well worth it. The few minutes listening to that old moron's crap are a small price to pay for some of the people that perform here."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, before Cameron turned to him and said cheekily, "So, are you going to 'put the moves on the pretty one'?"

House raised his eyebrows, before putting a hand on her knee under the table. She blinked and he slid his hand further up her thigh, watching her reaction. Cameron's held her breath as he pushed the hem of her dress up slightly and danced his fingers on her bare skin.

The guest musician arrived and House kept his hand on her knee as the man sat down on a chair in the centre of the stage and began to play his saxophone.

♥

Two hours later, they clapped along with the rest of the crowd as the saxophone guy bowed and left the stage. House drank his scotch and drummed his fingers on the table. Sneaking a glance at Cameron as she sipped her drink, he thought about how beautiful she really was.

He wondered what she was doing here with him. What she could possibly be getting out of this. It was one of the great mysteries of life, but he wasn't going to question it. Not like on their 'date'. (_What I am is what you need. I'm damaged._)

She turned and caught his gaze, smiling softly. She moved a slender hand to place it on top of his. He looked at their hands and then up at her, before leaning towards her and kissing her tenderly.

They pulled apart and he said, "Do you feel like going, yet?"

She nodded and they got up to leave. House pulled her out with him quickly after he spotted Artie attempting to make his way over to them again.

He pulled up outside his townhouse and they got out. It was chillier outside now than it was before, and Cameron held her coat closely around her while House unlocked the door. The dark townhouse was flooded with light as House flipped the lights on.

"What do you want to drink?" he asked.

"Surprise me," she replied, as she took her coat and shoes off.

House went into the kitchen and Cameron scanned the room. Seeing the piano, she made her way over and sat in front of it. She smiled, imagining House's long, slender fingers playing complex pieces to vent his feelings.

She glanced in the direction of the kitchen, before playing a simple C-major scale.

Almost immediately, House emerged bearing two glasses and a bottle of whiskey. "What are you doing?!" he exclaimed.

She grinned and kept playing, beginning an F-major scale.

He set the glasses and the bottle down on the coffee table and moved quickly over to her. He picked up her fingers and held them away from the keys. "Don't you hurt my baby," he said.

She looked up at him innocently and said, "I used to take piano lessons. I won't break it or anything."

"Yeah, probably when you were _seven_ or something," he replied, still holding her hands away from the piano.

She grinned evilly and said, "Will you teach me?"

He looked at her for a second, before murmuring, "Move over."

Cameron scooted down the piano seat as much as she could and House sat down next to her. Deciding that Für Elise was the easiest piece he could remember how to play, he began to play it so that she could listen and get an idea of how it went.

She smiled and watched him play, watched how his eyes were closed and how his fingers seemed to know exactly where to go without much instruction from him. When he finished the piece, she rested her head on his shoulder.

He looked down at her and raised his eyebrows. She smiled up at him and then lifted her head and kissed his jaw. He turned his head further towards her and she captured his lips softly.

They broke apart and he said, "Do you want to learn or not? You're not going to get very far if you keep trying to sex up your instructor."

She smirked and placed her fingers on the keys, trying to play the piece. She managed to stumble over the first few notes before he said that he would only teach her once she went and bought herself some beginner books.

They moved to the couch to drink the whiskey and Cameron turned on the television. As it was nearly one in the morning, there wasn't anything particularly riveting on, so they watched the news, and laughed at the presenter after House made a comment that the dumbass couldn't even put his toupee on straight.

House looked at Cameron sitting there by his side, her bare feet tucked under her, not caring that her fancy dress was getting crushed. Her lipstick was slightly smudged and more locks of hair were falling from their loose fastening. He felt a twang in his chest. Angina?

No. He knew what this was. He also knew that he was powerless to stop it.

He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her towards him. She rested her head on his shoulder. The news report finished, and House felt sure that Cameron had fallen asleep. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was slow and even.

He leant down and kissed the top of her head and whispered softly, "I love you."

Smiling, he rested his head back against the couch and closed his eyes, before drifting peacefully to sleep.

_Fin._

Please review! Hopefully the ending wasn't too abrupt, unexpected, or fluffy (although I plead guilty on all charges of fluffiness).


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